On March 30, 2020, the state of South Dakota experienced the longest day in legislative history. As former Speaker Of The House, turned Gubernatorial candidate Steve Haugaard tells it, "I got there at 6am, like I do every day, gaveled in at 11am and didn't gavel out until 3:40am the following morning."

It was veto day, and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The house, under Speaker Haugaard, had received a litany of bills at the request of the Governor that would have closed down businesses, schools, and shopping centers, essentially making South Dakota indistinguishable from any other state during that time. Twenty-nine lawmakers however, stood in the Governor's way, and prevented the bills from moving forward, towards enforceable law. During this time, as house members debated furiously, and eventually killed each bill, members of the senate's leadership and Noem's Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden, were drinking heavily at a house party, hosted by the South Dakota State Medical Association's lobbyist, Dean Krogman.



Krogman, who has a sordid history, is the chief lobbyist of the SDSMA, and the ICBSD (Independent Community Bankers of South Dakota), both of which have PACs currently targeting the very same twenty-nine lawmakers who stopped state closures, and have since passed various conservative bills.

Representative Spencer Gosch (R-Mobridge) was the Speaker Of The House during the 2022 legislative session, and is now running for the senate in district 23. Gosch, who has been outspoken on human rights' issues and amongst the twenty-nine, is now facing a well funded challenger in Bryan Breitling. Breilting's donors include SDSMA, ICBSD, Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck (R- Watertown) and Gov. Kristi Noem. This appears to be par for the course with all twenty-nine members of the house, and several senators, who stood in the way of COVID-19 related restrictions, and lock-downs.

Ironically, Gov. Noem then signed multiple executive orders (not enforceable law) directing all agencies and residents to abide by CDC guidelines, right before she and Lt. Gov. Rhoden plane hopped at taxpayer expense, to fund-raise as "The Governor Who Never Closed Her State."

Meanwhile, those who actually kept the state open, are not only finding that their primary challengers are in bed with (literally and figuratively) big pharma special interest groups, like those of which Dean Krogman lobbies on behalf of, but they have also found their way on to Sen. Lee Schoenbeck's "hit-list," to be removed from office.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

THE 2022 PRIMARY ELECTION ALL BOILS DOWN TO ONE ISSUE, AND ONE FATEFUL NIGHT....

The events that occurred on March 30, 2020 are largely unknown to the people of South Dakota. Few understand what happened, the gravity of the situation, or how senate leadership swept it all under the rug...Until now.

Bob Mercer of KELO news has touched on the issue from time to time, but the full story, in context has remained fairly quiet in the media. Cory Allen Heidelberger, of Dakota Free Press, is the first to fully explain the events of March 30, 2020 in context. Regardless of implied or explicit political bias, Heidelberger has, for many years now, filled the gaps by disclosing the facts omitted within South Dakota's mainstream media reports.

Heildelberger's May 15, 2022 report entitled, "Leaked Caucus Transcript Shows Investigation of Drunk Senators Was 'Sham Committee' with Outcome Prearranged by Jackley, Bolin, and Rusch," takes the first crack at connecting all the dots.

The Dakota Leader now releases the full transcript of the leaked senate caucus meeting, along with a rough time-line of events.

March 30, 2020 "Veto Day" - While the house was in session, Senators Kris Langer, Brock Greenfield and Lt Gov. Larry Rhoden drank heavily at Dean Krogman's house-party.

- When the senate was called back into session, various reports indicate that Sen. Langer was seen barefoot in room 413, the senate's base of operation during the session. Bob Mercer of Kelo News wrote of Sen. Langer, "Her diction was loose, her walk unsteady."

- Upon seeing the behavior and intoxication of Langer, Greenfield and Rhoden, a report was made from the house to senators attending remotely.

- Sen. Phil Jensen, appearing remotely, brought up the issue and requested an immediate hearing.

- Larry Rhoden, who is the Senate President, used a procedural move to discredit the validity of Senator Jensen's request, as he was appearing remotely and unable to submit a request in writing.

- Moments later, Speaker Haugaard submitted a written request for a hearing, typed up by Sen. Phil Jensen.

- Rhoden took a vote to determine if the senate body should have a hearing in the last hours of the legislative session, in order to handle the apparent violation of the senate decorum rules.

- The hearing request was voted down at that time.

Sometime later, the issue was brought up again before the senate. Little is known about this time-frame, but as a result the two senators who imbibed on veto day, hired former Attorney General Marty Jackley, to arrange an agreement on their behalf. Lt. Rhoden was never brought up for disciplinary action, though it is alleged on the last page of the transcript that Rhoden returned to the party after the session ended, and was somehow involved in an arrest.

What the public was never made aware of, until recently, is that Marty Jackley worked with Senators Jim Bolin (R-Canton) and Art Rusch (R-Vermillion) to pre-arrange an admonition and apology, prior to taking the matter up with the republican senate caucus, rather than the senate at large.

In the wake of this event, Lee Schoenbeck was named Senate President Pro Tempore, taking the place of Senator Greenfield. It's unknown if this promotion was part of a side deal between Lt. Gov. Rhoden, Marty Jackley, and Lee Schoenbeck. Political insiders, however, have expressed concerns that Schoenbeck may have been given the position after agreeing to whip votes during the senate caucus meeting, in an effort to "stack" the disciplinary committee. As Schoenbeck stated during the caucus meeting, transcribed below,

"Okay. Let me say, the work you guys -- it's a great way to avoid a full pile of embarrassment for a lot of (unintelligible). But the way to fix it, Jeff is describing it, we should vote on a motion to appoint five Caucus members who will support the Bolin-Rusch recommendation for apology and admonition. Because we also don't want five people, any of the five that want to open it back up to some other Donny Brook (phonetic). That's the motion we should vote on. And if a majority of us accept that, then we complied with E-Board (unintelligible)."

The following is the full, unabridged transcript of the senate republican caucus meeting-

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--Breeauna Sagdal- Health and Policy Journalist for The Dakota Leader

Post Date: 2022-06-02 15:44:32

Last Update: 2022-06-02 22:55:51